Charging station for tracked mobile object

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems related to a charging station for a tracked mobile object are disclosed. In one embodiment, a charging station is provided. The charging station comprises a charging port for a remote control, a regulator that provides power from a power source to the charging port, a transceiver that transmits an outbound positioning signal to the remote control, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for a method. The method comprises at least one of generating the outbound positioning signal and receiving an inbound positioning signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/049,133, filed Jul. 30, 2018, and incorporated by reference herein inits entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Certain electronic devices need to be tracked in physical space to servetheir appointed function. The devices can be tracked using externalsensors that receive wireless signals which are either reflected off orgenerated by the tracked device. The positioning system can thendetermine a position value for the device by analyzing thecharacteristics of the wireless signals using such approaches asmultilateration (MLAT) or other techniques. A specific example of thesekinds of devices is the universal remote controller developed and soldby 7hugs Labs which is tracked using an ultrawide band (UWB) positioningsystem with external wall mounted sensors that determine the position ofthe universal remote controller. The system can then determine where theremote is pointing so that commands entered on the controller are sentto the appropriate device. Similar systems can be used to track theposition of specialized game controllers, pointing devices forinteracting with a presentation or display, toys for virtual tag, andmany other applications involving tracked electronic devices.

SUMMARY

Specialized charging devices for tracked objects and associated methodsare disclosed herein. A charging device can be augmented to include awireless transceiver that is used to assist in tracking the position ofthe object that the charging device is designed to charge. The chargingdevice can be a charging station that both provides a dock for chargingthe tracked object and for transmitting wireless signals to conduct atracking action and determine the location of the object. The chargingdevice can conduct the tracking action alone or in combination with apositioning system including a set of external sensors.

A device exhibiting the combined functionality of both charging anobject and tracking the position of the object provides certainbenefits. The two kinds of functionality exhibit an appealing synergybecause devices that need to be tracked tend to be mobile such that theywill also need to be battery powered. Hence, a single device thatprovides both charging and tracking functionality is aptly suited tofacilitate the operation of the tracked device. Furthermore, a chargingstation will generally include a wired connection and thereby have alarge power budget to assist in reliable position tacking. Furthermore,if the charging station is connected to a wall socket, it will alreadybe located in a fixed position which is an amenable characteristic foranchors in many positioning systems. Additional benefits associated withspecific embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the detaileddescription below.

In one embodiment, a charging station is provided. The charging stationcomprises a charging port for a remote control, a regulator thatprovides power from a power source to the charging port, a transceiverthat transmits an outbound positioning signal to the remote control, anda non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for amethod. The method comprises at least one of generating the outboundpositioning signal and receiving an inbound positioning signal.

In another embodiment, a charging station is provided. The chargingstation comprises a charging port configured to connect with a remotecontrol, a regulator for providing power from a power source to thecharging port, and a transceiver that transmits and receives positioningsignals to and from the remote control.

In another embodiment, a positioning system for generating a positionvalue is provided. The system comprises a remote control for which thepositioning system generates the position value, a set of positioningdevices that transmit a set of positioning signals to the remotecontrol, and a charging station. The charging station comprises acharging port for the remote control, a regulator that provides powerfrom a power source to the charging port, and a transceiver thattransmits an outbound positioning signal to the remote control. Thepositioning system generates the positioning value using the set ofpositioning signals from the set of positioning devices, and theoutbound positioning signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for tracking an object and an associatedcharging device in two different states. In a first state, the chargingdevice is charging the object. In a second state, the charging device isassisting with tracking the object. The charging device and system ofFIG. 1 are in accordance with certain embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein.

FIG. 2 includes a series of perspective views and a block diagram of acharging device that is in accordance with certain embodiments of theinvention disclosed herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates multiple uses of a single transceiver on a chargingstation that are in accordance with certain embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Specialized charging devices for tracked objects and associated systemsand methods are disclosed in detail below. As described above, inspecific embodiments, a charging device can be augmented to include awireless transceiver that is used to assist in tracking the position ofthe object. The charging device can therefore provide both a source ofpower for the object and assist in tracking the device. Specificembodiments and variations of these concepts are disclosed below withreference to FIGS. 1-3 . The specific embodiments of these concepts asdisclosed in this section are provided for explanatory purposes and arenot meant to limit the invention, the scope of which is provided by theappended claims.

In specific embodiments of the invention, a charging station willexhibit the functionality required for charging an object. The chargingstation can include a charging port for an object and a regulator thatprovides power from a power source to the charging port. The powersource can be a mains power connection, provided with a standardelectric wall socket, such as a 220-240 V 50 Hz or 120 V 60 Hz supply.The power source could also be a battery, such as a lithium, nickel, orlead acid battery, or an ultra-capacitor. The battery or capacitor couldbe charged via a periodic connection to a mains power connection, asolar cell, or some other form of energy. The charging station caninclude any kind of regulator used to condition the power received fromthe power source into a power characteristic (voltage and current) thatis suitable for charging the object. The regulator can be a switching orlinear regulator. The object can be charged via the charging port whenthe object is docked with the charging station such that power flowsfrom the power source, through the regulator, to the charging port, andultimately charges a battery or ultracapacitor on the object.

In specific embodiments of the invention, the charging station will alsoprovide functionality for tracking the object. The charging station caninclude a wireless receiver for sensing wireless signals that have beeneither transmitted by the object or reflected off the object. Thecharging station can also include a wireless transmitter fortransmitting wireless signals to the object to assist in the positioningoperation. In one approach, the object can include an accelerometer orother sensors, and keep track of its position internally. The object canthen send a wireless signal back to the device to report its position.In another approach, the charging station can conduct time of arrival(TOA) or angle of arrival (AOA) analysis on signals transmitted by thecharging station and reflected off the device to track its position. Inanother approach, the charging station can track the position of theobject in combination with a set of external positioning devices. Theexternal positioning devices can transmit wireless signals towards theobject which are then reflected off the object and measured by awireless receiver on the charging station. The external positioningdevices can also transmit wireless signals towards the charging stationto allow the charging station to auto-locate itself within thepositioning system. The external positioning devices can also receivewireless signals transmitted from the charging station directly to theexternal positioning devices or reflected off the object. The externalpositioning devices can be wall mounted beacons in an indoor positioningsystem. The wireless signals can be part of an ultra-wideband (UWB)positioning system that uses MLAT to track the object.

A set of specific embodiments of the invention can be described withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2 . FIG. 1 illustrates charging station 101operating in two states 100 and 110, along with a depiction of system120 that can execute some of the methods disclosed herein. FIG. 2illustrates three views of charging station 101 along with a blockdiagram of the internals of charging station 101. State 100 is definedby the charging station 101 being docked with object 102 while chargingstation 101 charges object 102. State 110 is defined by the chargingstation 101 being used to generate a position value for object 102.

State 100 involves the charging station 101 participating in thecharging of object 102. In the illustrated case, object 102 is awireless battery powered remote control. The remote control may requirea system to provide a position value for the remote control so that theremote can either provide the appropriate controls for the device it ispointing at and/or so the system can route commands received on theremote to the appropriate device. In short, a positioning system may beneeded to determine where the remote is pointing at any given time.Charging station 101 includes a wired connection to mains power source104 via a wire connection from a wall socket to the charging station.Charging station 101 can include a port 202 for receiving the wireconnection from power source 104. The internals of the charging stationinclude a regulator 206 that conditions power received from mains powersource 104 for delivery to object 102 via charging port 201 at a powercharacteristic optimized to charge object 102. In the illustrated case,the power delivered by the charging station 101 can be used to chargethe batteries of the object 102.

In specific embodiments, the charging station can include a chargingport and the charging port can take on various forms. The charging portcan be configured to connect with the object in order to provide powerto a power storage device on the object. In specific embodiments, thecharging port will also be a data port for the object. Approaches inwhich the charging port can also be a data port include approaches inwhich the object includes software or firmware that can be updated,requires the wired delivery of data from an external source, or requiresthe wired transmission of data to an external source. For example, theobject could be a universal remote and the remote could receive softwareupdates when it is docked with the charging station. Any transfer ofdata can be conducted via this data port. In particular, transfers ofdata that are not immediately necessary and that might otherwise overlytax the internal power storage of the object can be transmitted throughthis data port. In the case of charging station 101, the charging port201 can also be a data port for object 102.

The charging port could be configured to connect with an object in thesense that the charging port both held the object in place and providedpower to the object. For example, the port could be a USB, USB-B, USB-C,Thunderbolt, Lighting, or HDMI port. The charging port could beconfigured to connect with an object by presenting a male or femaleinterface positioned to accept a corresponding interface on the object.The charging device could also be configured to wirelessly charge thedevice through inductive coupling. In these embodiments, the chargingdevice could present a target located over an inductive coupling antennaor be designed such that its entire upper surface was prepared toinductively charge an object placed on top of or otherwise in thevicinity of the charging device. If inductive coupling was utilized, thecharging device could still communicate with the device while chargingusing a near field communication wireless protocol or through otherwireless protocols such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-wave, Wi-Fi, and othervariants.

In specific embodiments, the charging port can hold the object at anangle to either improve the appearance of the unit overall, or to allowan integrated display on the object to display useful information whenthe device is docked. In situations in which the charging port wasplaced on a flat surface, as opposed to being wall mounted, the chargingport could position the docked device vertically such that the displaywas perpendicular to a base of the charging station. In approaches inwhich the object is atheistically pleasing, this form of positioning isbeneficial in the sense that the object itself is essentially on displaywhile charging. Furthermore, if the device included an integrateddisplay, the object could be configured to display useful informationwhen docked. For example, the display could show how close the object isto being fully charged, or other useful information such as the time ortemperature.

In specific embodiments, the charging port can maintain the object in aposition that makes it easy to attach and/or detach. For example, theobject could be placed into a cradle on the charging station such thatthe charging port on the charging device was guided to mate with acounterpart on the object as the object was dropped into the cradle. Inanother example, the benefits of the prior paragraph could be achievedwhile still allowing for easy detachment of the device by modifying astandard charging port to decrease the holding force of the connector.The charging port could be configured to allow the device to be placeddirectly onto the charging port and be held at an angle greater than 45degrees above a main surface of the charging station. In thesesituations, the holding force of the connector could be set to less thanthe weight of the charging station or object, whichever is less. In theillustrated case, the charging port 201 is a modified USB-C connectorwhere the holding force of a traditional USB-C connector has beendecreased such that it was less than a weight of the object. In this andsimilar embodiments, the charging station has been designed to beheavier than the object. In these approaches, object 102 could be liftedsmoothly off the charging port 201 without danger of lifting the entireapparatus up along with it.

In specific embodiments, a charging device will include a means forwirelessly determining a position value for the object. The means forwirelessly determining a position value for the object can include awireless receiver on the charging device. The wireless receiver canreceive a signal indicative of the position of the object. The wirelessreceiver can also receive a signal from which the position of the objectcan be derived such as via a TOA or AOA analysis conducted on thesignal. The means for wirelessly determining a position value for theobject can also include a processor and a computer-readable mediumstoring instructions to conduct the above mentioned derivations. Inspecific approaches, the means for wirelessly determining a positionvalue for the object can include a wireless transmitter used to send outwireless signals for engaging in a wireless positioning process. Forexample, the transmitter could transmit an outbound positioning signalto the object. In these approaches, the computer-readable medium couldstore instructions to generate an outbound positioning signal, receivean inbound positioning signal, and process the inbound positioningsignal to determine a position value for the object. In specificapproaches, the charging device can both transmit and receive wirelesssignals using a single transceiver on the charging device. In specificembodiments, the charging device can communicate with a set of externaldevices to determine the position value. For example, the chargingdevice could rely on positioning signals generated by dedicatedpositioning devices to generate a position value, or it could rely on acentral external server to derive the position value from a set ofwireless signals observed by the charging device.

In specific embodiments, a system will include a means for wirelesslydetermining a position value for the charging device. The system may usethe position value of the charging device to derive a more meaningful ormore accurate position value for the object. For example, in an MLATsystem, the positions of the positioning devices are all determined inorder to derive and cross check a position value that coheres with thederived positions of all the devices in the system. The means forwirelessly determining the position value for the charging device canalso communicate with a set of external devices. The charging device canreceive an inbound auto-positioning signal from these external devices.The charging device can receive the inbound auto-positioning signalusing a transceiver that was also used to generate outbound positioningsignals transmitted to the object. The charging device can includecomputer-readable instructions to execute these actions either alone orin combination with external devices. The same processor used to processsignals for conducting the derivations necessary to generate a positionvalue for the object can be used to generate the position value for thecharging device.

State 110 involves the charging station 101 participating in thetracking of object 102. Charging station 101 can include a processor 205that is used to determine a position value for object 102 either byitself or in combination with external devices. The wireless transceiver207 can transmit an outbound positioning signal to the object.Reflections of that signal, or responses to that signal, can then beused by the processor to derive a position of the object. The processormay also consider the characteristics of the outbound signal whendetermining the position value of the object in those derivations. Thereflections can be measured by wireless transceiver 207 or by otherdevices. In the illustrated case, charging station 101 is participatingin the tracking of object 102, and is not tracking the objectindependently. Instead, charging station 101 is operating with apositioning system for generating a position value for object 102. Thesystem for generating the position value for the object can be system120 and can include computer-readable media and processors on object 102itself. System 120 includes a set of external positioning devices in theform of wall mounted beacons 103. The set of wall mounted beacons 103include a first beacon 1 and a second beacon 2. As illustrated by thedotted lines in the depiction of state 110, beacon 1, beacon 2, andcharging station 101 each receive signals that are reflected off object102 to participate in generating a position value for object 102.

In the illustrated case, the processor relies on the cooperation of aset of external positioning devices 103. The charging station can alsogenerate the positioning value in combination with data from a remoteserver 121 or the execution of instructions on remote server 121 forpurposes of conducting the methods disclosed herein. The processor cangenerate the position value after analyzing signals received by awireless receiver such as via wireless transceiver 207.

In specific embodiments in which the charging device operates incombination with external devices, the unique angle of the chargingdevice relative to those external devices can contribute to a moreaccurate derivation of the positioning value. This is because therequirements for the location of the charging device may differ from therequirements for location of the external positioning device. Forexample, the charging device may be a charging station for a mobileobject meant to be used indoors. More specifically, the charging devicemay be a charging station configured for placement on a flat surface,such as a coffee table or cabinet top, while the external positioningdevices are wall-mounted beacons. The charging station may include abase for supporting the charging station. In these approaches, thecharging station can improve the performance of the tracking system inan innocuous way by providing a different angle of view towards thetracked object without adding an additional device to the system. Thecharging station could further include a transceiver that is positionedto transmit and receive positioning signals at an angle above the base.These approaches provide certain benefits in that the object will likelybe in a plane that lies above the charging station but below theexternal positioning device. The overall system may therefore provide amore accurate reading because the polarity of the heading vector for theobject can be more readily derived.

The object being tracked by the positioning systems disclosed herein canbe any object whose position needs to be determined by an automatedsystem with a high degree of accuracy. The object can be a pointingdevice such as a remote control, presentation pointer, inventorymanagement device, or a toy used for wireless tag. The pointing devicewill have a defined pointing direction which is associated with aheading the user aligns a target with when pointing. In otherembodiments, the object can be a drone, smart phone, tablet computer,wearable computing device, or any other computing device. In thespecific example of FIG. 1 , object 102 is a dedicated device thatoperates as a universal controller. The controller can operate tocontrol one or more electronic devices and may transmit signals to thesedevices using any form of wireless transmitter. The tracking system canbe used to determine which device the controller is pointing towards atany given time.

In specific embodiments, a single wireless transceiver on the chargingdevice can be used for multiple purposes. For example, the transceivercould be used to transmit and receive the positioning signals used totrack the object as well as signals for other purposes such as sendingcommands to the object, receiving commands from the object, receivingdata measured by the object, or transmitting a locate-assist signal tothe object. The multiple uses will depend on the characteristics of theobject. FIG. 3 provides an example of multiple uses for the singletransceiver if the object is a remote control.

FIG. 3 illustrates a charging station 301 from a top-down perspective.The charging station includes a wireless transceiver 303, a processor305, and a user interface 304 in the form of a simple press button. Thecharging station is shown in three different states 300, 310, and 320 toillustrate the multiple uses of the transceiver 303. In state 310,transceiver 303 is being used to transmit positioning signals 311 toobject 302, and receive positioning signals 312 from object 302. Thereceived signals are then used by processor 305 to derive a positionvalue for the object 302. States 300 and 320 illustrate how the sametransceiver can be used for other purposes.

As mentioned above, the same transceiver used to transmit and receiveposition values for an object can be used to transmit a locate-assistsignal to the object. All objects have the potential to be misplaced. Inthe case of a remote control being used in an internal environment, theremote could fall behind a piece of furniture and be difficult toquickly locate. In specific embodiments, the object could include alocate-assist feature such that when a user interface on the chargingdevice was engaged, a wireless signal could be sent to the object tomake the object generate an audible signal such as a siren to allowsomeone to easily locate the object. The charging device could include asingle transceiver used to transmit signals to position the object witha tracking system and to transmit such a locate-assist signal to theobject. In certain approaches, the same wireless protocol and/ortransmitter could be used to transmit outbound positioning signals fromthe charging device and the locate-assist signal. The wireless protocolcould be a UWB protocol. As seen in FIG. 3 , the user interface 304 canreceive a press input from a user, and transceiver 303 can transmit alocate-assist signal in response to this input. Upon receiving thelocate-assist signal, object 302 can conduct an action that makes iteasier to find. For example, object 302 could trigger an internal alarm,depicted by alarm bell 307, to being sounding so that a user couldquickly locate the object 302 by following the sound.

As mentioned above, the same transceiver used to transmit and receiveposition values for an object can be used to receive command signalsfrom the object. For example, if the object were a remote controldesigned to receive controller inputs from the user, the single wirelesstransceiver used for the positioning signals on the charging devicecould also be used to receive controller input signals from the remote.The object could be designed to transmit those controller inputs to thecharging station wirelessly via a controller input signal so that thesystem could process the controller inputs appropriately. In certainapproaches, the same wireless protocol and/or transmitter could be usedto transmit outbound positioning signals from the charging device andreceive controller input signals from the object. The wireless protocolcould be a UWB protocol. The charging station could include a wiredconnection, or a more resource intensive wireless connection than theone used to communicate with the remote, to send the controller inputson to an external server or directly to a device to which the commandwas directed. The processor on the charging station could be used toprocess the command inputs and take the appropriate action in responsethereto. In approaches in which a different wireless protocol was usedto route the commands on from the charging station to other devices, thecharging station could include another transceiver dedicated for thispurpose. For example, the object could receive the controller inputsignal on a UWB transceiver and then transmit the commands to anotherdevice using a dedicated Zig-bee or Z-wave transceiver. Similarapproaches could be used if the object was used to collect data wherethe controller input signals were replaced with data signals.

As seen in FIG. 3 , the object 302 could receive a controller input andtransmit the controller input to charging station 301 via a controllerinput signal 321. This signal could then be received by transceiver 303and processed by processor 305. The processor would then be able toderive command 322 from the controller input signal and route thecommand to the appropriate system. In the illustrated case, chargingstation 301 may be able to determine on its own that the device forwhich the command “on” was intended was “Device 1.” To make thisdetermination, processor 305 would need to have a position value forobject 302 and an understanding of what devices corresponded to whichpositions for the remote. If charging station 301 did not have thisinformation, it could pass the controller input to an external device,such as an external server, where the command would be derived andultimately routed to “Device 1.”

While the specification has been described in detail with respect tospecific embodiments of the invention, it will be appreciated that thoseskilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing,may readily conceive of alterations to, variations of, and equivalentsto these embodiments. For example, while the example of a mobilecharging station with a cord for plugging into a supply has been used asan example environment throughout this disclosure, similar approachescould be applied to permanently installed charging devices built intothe walls of a home or into fixed structures in an outdoor environment.These and other modifications and variations to the present inventionmay be practiced by those skilled in the art, without departing from thescope of the present invention, which is more particularly set forth inthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A positioning system for determining and using aposition value, the positioning system comprising: a pointing device forwhich the positioning system determines the position value; and acharging device comprising: a charging port for the pointing device; aregulator that provides power from a power source to the charging port;and at least one transceiver that transmits an outbound positioningsignal to the pointing device, and that receives at least one commandsignal from the pointing device; wherein the positioning systemdetermines the position value using the outbound positioning signal; andwherein the positioning system determines a device for which the atleast one command signal is intended based on the position value, androutes the at least one command signal from the charging device to thedevice for which the at least one command signal is intended.
 2. Thepositioning system of claim 1, wherein: the charging device isconfigured to wirelessly charge the pointing device.
 3. The positioningsystem of claim 1, the charging device further comprising: an inductivecoupling antenna; and a target located over the inductive couplingantenna.
 4. The positioning system of claim 3, wherein: the chargingdevice is configured to communicate with and charge the pointing deviceusing the inductive coupling antenna.
 5. The positioning system of claim1, wherein: the transceiver receives an inbound auto-positioning signal;and the positioning system determines the position value using theoutbound positioning signal and the inbound auto-positioning signal. 6.The positioning system of claim 1, wherein the positioning system doesone of: determine the position value after the outbound positioningsignal is reflected off the pointing device; and determine the positionvalue after a receiver on the pointing device receives the outboundpositioning signal, and the pointing device responds to the outboundpositioning signal.
 7. The positioning system of claim 1, wherein: thecharging port is a USB-C port.
 8. The positioning system of claim 1,wherein: the charging port is also a data port for the pointing device.9. The positioning system of claim 1, wherein the charging devicefurther comprises: a user interface; wherein the charging devicegenerates a locate-assist signal in response to a command from the userinterface; wherein the transceiver transmits the locate-assist signal tothe pointing device; and wherein the locate-assist signal and theoutbound positioning signal are wirelessly transmitted using the samewireless protocol.
 10. The positioning system of claim 1, wherein: thepower source is a battery or ultra-capacitor.
 11. The positioning systemof claim 1, wherein: the charging device is a charging station.
 12. Thepositioning system of claim 1, wherein: the pointing device is a smartphone.
 13. The positioning system of claim 1, further comprising: apositioning device that transmits a positioning signal to the pointingdevice; and wherein the positioning system determines the position valueusing: (i) the positioning signal from the positioning device; and (ii)the outbound positioning signal.
 14. The positioning system of claim 13,wherein: the positioning system determines the position value using amultilateration analysis.
 15. The positioning system of claim 1,wherein: the transceiver receives a controller input signal from thepointing device; the controller input signal includes a controller inputcharging device processes the controller input from the pointing device;and the controller input and the outbound positioning signal arewirelessly transmitted using the same wireless protocol.
 16. A methodfor determining and using a position value for a pointing device, themethod comprising: charging the pointing device via a charging port on acharging device; one of: (i) receiving a positioning signal transmittedby the charging device; or (ii) reflecting the positioning signaltransmitted by the charging device, wherein the position value isdetermined using one of: (A) a reflection of the positioning signal offof the pointing device; and (B) a responsive transmission generated onthe pointing device and in response to the positioning signal; receivinga command signal from the pointing device; and determining a device forwhich the at least one command signal is intended based on the positionvalue, and routing the at least one command signal from the chargingdevice to the device for which the at least one command signal isintended.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein: the charging of thepointing device is conducted wirelessly.
 18. The method of claim 16,further comprising: placing the pointing device on a target on thecharging device; and wherein the charging of the pointing device isconducted using an inductive coupling antenna located below the target.19. The method of claim 16, wherein: the pointing device is a smartphone.
 20. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storinginstructions which, when executed by one or more processors in a system,cause the system to execute a method for determining and using aposition value for a pointing device comprising: charging the pointingdevice via a charging port on a charging device; transmitting anoutbound positioning signal from the charging device to the pointingdevice; determining the position value using one of: (i) a reflection ofthe outbound positioning signal off of the pointing device; and (ii) aresponsive transmission, by the pointing device, generated on thepointing device and in response to the outbound positioning signal;receiving a command signal from the pointing device; and determining adevice for which the at least one command signal is intended based onthe position value, and routing the at least one command signal from thecharging device to the device for which the at least one command signalis intended.